Now I'm super confused!! This is what I want to learn to do, I want a swim suit, a tiered hippie skirt with crochet borders in between the teiers and like some hole-y over shirts. Is this knitting or chrochet?!

all of these are crochet. and all the mamas make great suggestions. ravelry is a great place for patterns and youtube is a great place for instructional tutorials. when I started relearning about 15 yrs ago, I used a basic yarn that I found at my mom's. Then I started an "afghan" of sorts. I just practiced all the stitches that were in this basic crochet book I found. By practicing all the basic stitches like that, it helped me w/gauge and all the other basics. I used the afghan as a dog blanket, I think, as it turned all kinds of whonky

also....here's a couple of crochet factoids LOL.....it burns 50 cals/hr! and, all the crochet stuff you see at stores....the ornaments, the trims, etc...all are hand done. Crochet can not be done on a machine

Wow, I wish I would have read a thread like this when I first started knitting/crocheting. So much great help!
I am left handed and had such a hard time learning to crochet but I kept at it and now I own a crochet/knit business! The thing I had to remind myself is to keep going, even when I threw the yarn and hook across the room because I kept messing up (not that I had ever done that... ) If you keep going you'll find that one day you're great!

Another great tip to to try using worsted weight yarn first. That tends to be the easiest to hold and work with at first.

And the other real difference between bamboo and metal hooks (at least, for me) are how they feel in my hands. But, with knitting I find some yarn works better with bamboo and others with metal. Perhaps it could be the same with crochet hooks?

For crochet hooks, I found I have a strong preference for inline hooks. My favorite metal hooks are Susan Bates Silvalume. They are inexpensive and easy to find and a great hook to start with. In fact, over 20 years later, I still do almost all my crochet work with them.

For hooks I like a metal hook with a bamboo handle. For me the metal slides through the yarn the best but I prefer the feel of bamboo in my hand. I don't like plastic and bamboo hooks though - I can't get as smooth of a rhythm with those.

For crochet hooks, I found I have a strong preference for inline hooks. My favorite metal hooks are Susan Bates Silvalume. They are inexpensive and easy to find and a great hook to start with. In fact, over 20 years later, I still do almost all my crochet work with them.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rhianna'sMommy

For hooks I like a metal hook with a bamboo handle. For me the metal slides through the yarn the best but I prefer the feel of bamboo in my hand. I don't like plastic and bamboo hooks though - I can't get as smooth of a rhythm with those.

Agreed on both counts...I waited until there was a sale & got a big set of Bates bamboo handled hooks @ Herrschner's. I have some Boye hooks as well, but they aren't quite as comfortable for me.

I took a class at Joann Fabric to get a basic understanding of everything. Then, I watched YouTube videos over and over until I got it. I still reference YouTube when I come across a stitch I'm unfamiliar with.